Hannah's Warrior: Cosmos' Gateway Book 2 (5 page)

Abasi, in the meantime, discovered a sudden
attraction for one of the women in the village. Hannah laughed as
she watched the two of them fumble around like a couple of
teenagers. Even as dark as Abasi’s skin was she couldn’t help but
tease him when he turned a brilliant red as the woman’s family
teased them both. When it was time to leave, Hannah smiled at her
dear friend as he promised profusely that he would return for the
hand of the lovely maiden with gifts for her family in return for
her hand. Hannah shook her head at how quickly they seemed to fall
in love with each other. She brushed aside all of Abasi’s attempts
to apologize for his lack of control when they finally reached the
small town where Hannah was able to hire a pilot to fly her to Cape
Town. Hannah calmly handed over the keys to the Land Rover with a
kiss to her friend wishing him good luck. Abasi watched sadly as
the amazing woman who became more than a friend walked away.
Raising his hands to the sky, he asked the great Earth to see her
safely home and grant her happiness; for if anyone deserved it, she
did.

Flights from Cape Town to a variety of other
cities around Europe with a multitude of layovers followed before
she was finally able to get one into Bangor, Maine. Throughout it
all, her internal warning system was making the Richter scale for a
major earthquake look like a kiddie ride at the carnival. Hannah
tried calling from every stop. The first few days the only answer
she got was from RITA saying Tink and Cosmos were not available and
she couldn’t tell Hannah when they would be. Hannah came to two
decisions while she waited…first, she was going to short-circuit
RITA the first chance she got and second she was going to beat
Cosmos to within an inch of his life if someone didn’t tell her
what was going on! Finally, late last night Cosmos had returned her
call right before she was about to board her last flight for the
night. Hannah tiredly tried to remember his exact words.

“
I think Tink is okay.” Cosmos had
replied to Hannah’s question as to why Tink had not returned any of
her calls.

“
What do you mean…think?” Hannah had
growled out so viciously several passengers sitting close to her
moved away. “Where is she, Cosmos?” Hannah whispered out fiercely
into the disposable cell phone she purchased.

Hannah listened in dismay as
Cosmos replied he would tell her more when she arrived but for her
to try not to worry, he was working on the situation. Hannah had to
hang up as the last call for boarding was being announced.
What the hell did he mean by ‘he was working on
the situation?’
Hannah had wondered through
the entire flight across the Atlantic. An overnight stop in
Philadelphia barely touched the sleep deprivation she was suffering
from. Before Hannah’s tired body totally gave out, she was back on
a plane early this morning heading for Bangor where Cosmos picked
her up.

Now, Hannah sat in the all too quiet living
room of her baby sister wondering if Tink was dead or alive. Cosmos
explained what happened that night over a week ago when Hannah last
talked to Tink. Tink had been attacked by some senator’s son. The
FBI and local police were breathing down Cosmos’ neck since he was
the only one who was seen walking out of the equipment room where
Tink and the senator’s son’s blood was found. The man who was
supposed to be with the senator’s son had conveniently disappeared.
Cosmos was released on lack of evidence that he was involved in any
criminal way. He said he went to find Tink and all he found was a
broken door and the blood. The waitress supported his claim he was
sitting at the booth with several other men that night. Cosmos told
the authorities the men were just passing through and that night
was the first night he ever met them, which was the truth. He
didn’t tell them they were aliens from another world. No, he left
that part for Hannah. He told Hannah how Tink was critically
wounded by Scott Bachman and how J’kar opened the portal to his
spaceship and took Tink there, saying it was the only way to save
her life. When Hannah pressed him about why it had been over a week
and Tink had not returned, Cosmos simply shrugged his shoulders and
looked down dejectedly saying he didn’t know.

“
Hannah?” Cosmos soft voice called out
from the doorway. “I’m sorry.”

Hannah looked up and for the first time saw
the deep lines around Cosmos’ mouth and his pale complexion. His
eyes reflected his guilt and his worry for Tink. Hannah knew Cosmos
loved Tink and would do anything to protect her. If Tink was
wounded as badly as Cosmos said, his invention may be what saved
her life.

“
You know, mom and dad say things
always turn out for the best, no matter how bad it seems at first.
Maybe everything that happened was meant to be. If you hadn’t
invented that portal and Tink hadn’t met this J’kar guy then she
would be dead.” Hannah said softly.

Cosmos’ eyes gleamed with unshed tears at the
mention of Tink being dead. “If I hadn’t…”

He stopped when he saw Hannah shaking her
head. “Bachman would have still targeted Tink. From the sound of
it, he was already targeting her. I believe she is alive. I have
to.” Hannah said quietly looking out over the river. “I can’t
imagine a world without her in it. Your invention brought her and
J’kar together for a reason. Maybe it was to save her life. I don’t
know. But it was a good thing. Remember that, Cosmos. It was a good
thing.” Hannah repeated looking up at Cosmos with a small
smile.

Cosmos studied Hannah for a moment before he
nodded. He turned to leave but stopped for a moment before turning
back around. He looked intently at Hannah before asking the
question that was plaguing him.

“
What does your gut tell you?” Cosmos
asked hesitantly.

Hannah let a big smile slowly spread as she
turned inward to see what her internal warning system was saying.
“It is telling me she is not only alright but she is happy.” Hannah
said reluctantly. “Everything will be fine.”

Cosmos’ shoulders shifted as if a huge weight
was lifted off of them. While he was a man of science, he also
believed in Hannah’s ability to sense things. He had heard too much
and seen too much over the years to doubt it.

Cosmos nodded his head before replying. “Try
to get some sleep. I need to go over to the university for a few
hours to check on some of the equipment I’ve been working on. I
will be taking RITA offline while I’m gone to upload some
modifications I’ve made. Will you be okay?”

Hannah laughed tiredly. “Cosmos, I have lived
in some of the most dangerous places in the world, slept with some
of the most dangerous species in the world…” Hannah ignored Cosmos’
raised eyebrow. She was too tired to clarify none of them were the
two-legged variety. “…and am so tired I could sleep through a major
hurricane, earthquake, and tsunami without so much as a flutter of
an eyelash. Go do what you need to do. We’ll figure out a way to
find Tink when I can think straight.”

Cosmos quickly walked back into the room and
gave Hannah a kiss on her nose. “See you when you wake, sleeping
beauty.”

Hannah hit him weakly on the
shoulder before watching him head down the stairs. Forcing herself
to get up, Hannah made her way into the large bathroom adjacent to
Tink’s bedroom. She quickly removed her clothes and climbed into
the hot shower with a loud groan.
Oh,
God.
Hannah thought passionately.
Hot water never felt so good!
Hot showers and soft beds were two things Hannah missed the
most when she was out on one of her assignments. Within twenty
minutes, Hannah was sound asleep.

Hannah stretched slowly several hours later.
She frowned up at the ceiling trying to orient herself. Glancing
around, she remembered she was in Tink’s bed in the warehouse she
shared with Cosmos. Hannah lay still as she tried to figure out
what could possibly have woken her from a sound sleep. She could
feel that little warning siren going off that told her something
wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t blaring like she was in danger but it
was definitely doing the ‘warning…warning’ message, kind of like
when the National Weather Service sent out their warnings on the
radio or television.

Hannah rolled out of the bed and wrapped one
of Tink’s robes around her. It was a bit on the small side since
Hannah was a couple of inches taller than Tink’s five foot four
frame. Luckily, Hannah was wearing an oversized T-shirt and a pair
of boxers to sleep in. She moved quietly down the steps, her bare
feet not making any noise on the oak steps. The second level of the
warehouse was Cosmos’ living quarters. Hannah had been in it dozens
of times and quickly remembered the layout. There was a bedroom
area off to the left. The stairs were to the right and across from
it was the doorway to a small kitchenette area where they usually
ate. Hannah moved cautiously down the steps, the alarm sounding
louder in her gut with each step she took. Hannah ducked under the
stairwell and moved across through the door into the kitchenette.
She reached up and took one of Tink’s prized aluminum frying pans
down from the hook over the center stove area and held it firmly
against her chest. From the corner of her eye, Hannah saw a dark
shape move against the light filtering in through the windows
overlooking the river. A friend would have turned on some lights
when they entered so that only left the un-friendly. Hannah stepped
back into a small recess next to the counter and held her breath.
The huge figure of the intruder was moving around the open bar
heading towards her. Hannah gripped the frying pan tighter and said
a prayer of thanks for picking out the black silk robe instead of
the hot pink one. As the figure came through the door Hannah swung
with all her might bringing the bottom of the frying pan down over
the back of the man’s head, watching in relief as he collapsed at
her feet.

Borj hesitated a moment as he took stock of
his surroundings. He was in some type of lab or workroom from the
equipment. He didn't know what to expect when he walked through the
doorway. He moved silently towards a group of what looked like
primitive controls of some type. Borj ran his fingers lightly over
a type of input device with strange markings on it before moving
over to a set of steps leading down to a lower level. He stopped at
the top observing the strange metal archway against one wall and
the cables and wires running to it. It did not appear to have an
exit. Turning, he noticed a small area containing a sink and some
cabinets. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the set of clear
doors Tink told him about and another set on the other side of them
which she said led out of the lab. Borj pulled the map of the
warehouse out of his pocket that Tink had drawn for him and studied
it carefully. Tink said if Cosmos was not in his lab he should be
in his living quarters. She didn't know the exact time it was on
Earth but even if Cosmos wasn't there she said Borj could wait for
him on the second level.

Tink had reassured him Cosmos would know how
to get in touch with Hannah if she was not there already. Borj
walked over to the control panel on the wall and punched in the
symbols she had written down for him. She said it was a by-pass
code in case RITA was down and the person did not have voice
recognition set up yet. Borj watched as the doors slid open. He
stepped into the small area, turning to watch as the doors behind
him closed silently. Turning back around, he entered the second set
of symbols. A solid metal door clicked open and he pushed his way
into a dimly lit narrow corridor. There were two sets of stairs -
one lead up, the other lead down. Borj turned and moved upward.

At the top of the stairs the room opened up
into a large area with a set of windows along one side. Borj did
not know how to turn on the lighting in the area. Normally when he
entered a room the lights would automatically adjust to his
preferences. It didn't matter, he could see just fine with the
light coming in through the windows. He moved over to them and
gazed out on the home world of the female he wanted to claim. He
watched as strange transports moved back and forth over a small
bridge spanning the river below him. The village below him was
brightly lit with a brilliant sprinkling of lights. He could see
humans walking along the edge of the river, some holding hands,
others alone. He wondered vaguely if any of them could be his
female. Tink said she should have arrived by now. Borj turned away
from the window and moved towards the bedroom area to see if the
male was there. He walked through noticing the bed was empty and
the cleansing room was dark. He returned to the living area and
moved towards the food preparation area. He was curious as to how
the human's living space compared with those on Baade. He had just
walked into the small cooking area when he felt a sense of warning
he was not alone. He was just about to turn when a blow from behind
struck him and everything went dark.

Hannah looked down at the
figure lying face down on the kitchen floor. She quickly turned on
the light over the sink and bent to make sure the man was
incapacitated. Seeing he was out cold, Hannah quickly jerked open
the drawers in the kitchen looking for something to tie the
intruder up with. She crowed in triumph when she came across a
package of plactic tie straps.
They were
the large, heavy duty type too,
Hannah
thought with relief. From the size of the guy lying on the floor
she was going to need the extra strenght variety. She quickly
attached one to each of his wrists then connected them together
with another one. Not wanting to take a chance, she put three more
around both wrists and three up his legs starting at his ankles.
Hannah stared at the three remaining ties and shrugged her
shoulders. She might as well use them too. She quickly attached two
more to the ties around his wrists and then to the belt loops on
the back of his jeans and the last one she tied around his
ankles.
Twelve of those bad boys should
keep him immobile when he wakes up!
Hannah
thought smugly.